Brain Exercises Mobile

Dr. Erin Keeps You Informed and right side of the brain. Crawling is as vital in stimulating brain growth as it is in helping a child be Brain Exercises mobile. In fact, it’s more important.

For All Ages Studies have found that not only can avoiding crawling cause learning difficulties in reading, writing and We all know that exercise is good for our bodies; we comprehension, but even speech can be affected if the can promote good health and stay fit if we exercise crawling stage of development is skipped. regularly. What you may not know, is that the same is true for the brain. If an infant has gone from rolling over to using objects

to creep along in a standing position, it’s important to Just like any other muscle, the brain can get in shape, take the child down from the furniture and encourage be strengthened and developed with use or exercise. them to crawl.

What About the Brain? Children and Pre-Adolescents

The human brain is made up of nerve cells called Obviously, children and pre-adolescents are going to neurons and these are connected by synapses which benefit from brain games that encourage them to transport information from one neuron to the other. Just like other muscles and organs, the brain does change with age; synapses fire more slowly, some cells die off “Recent studies have and the overall mass of the organ shrinks. However, advances in brain imaging and neuroscience coupled found that today’s youth with studies of twins have shown that not all change is genetically predetermined or inevitable. are struggling with

This new understanding of the brain and its response to cognitive thinking…” exercise has created an entire new industry based on a word coined by Drs. Katz and Rubin in 1999 called actually use their brains. For instance, memory games “neurobics”. This is a term for mental exercises which where the children try to turn over one card at a time are used to increase the range of mental motion by and match the cards. These games have been around activating different parts of the brain. But, while for years but are still beneficial. Puzzles, card games “neurobics” are a specific set of exercises, studies have and even riddles can be equally valuable. shown that any exercising of the brain may, not only stave off brain degeneration, but in many cases reverse This age group will also benefit in the same way from memory loss and improve mental agility. physical games. Research has shown that children in this age group can best exercise their brain by playing Infants to Toddlers physical games that force them to cross the midline A baby is born with approximately 100 billion neurons and engage both sides of their bodies simultaneously. and during their everyday activities the synapses are Crossing the midline is the act of the right arm crossing developed. Activity, interaction and movement are like over the left-hand side of the body and vice versa. In food for an infant’s brain, helping it to develop. many ways this is beneficial in the same way that learning to crawl is beneficial to an infant. Many parents have expressed delight in what they consider an early or advanced milestone when a child Recent studies have found that today’s youth are goes straight from rolling over to walking. However, the struggling with cognitive thinking due to a lack of act of learning to crawl develops synapses that cross physical activities and games. Not referring to the hemispheres in the brain. dominant-sided organized sports such as baseball or football, but instead to games like dodgeball and tag. Crawling requires the movement of the right arm with These games demand the use of binocular vision the left leg and vice versa. This motion or “cross- continued on page 2 crawling” is a physical exercise that activates the nerve cells in the brain and stimulates them to create I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE synapses or neurological pathways between the left Page 1 Brain Exercises for All Ages

being chess. Requiring the contestants to strategize, Continued from page 1 consider their moves two or three in advance, and beyond arm’s length and require the child to involve three-dimensional space. speculate what moves their opponent will make, has chess listed as the most beneficial of all brain exercises. However, this doesn’t mean that it should Enjoyable Games and Their Benefits rule out checkers or card games. Any game that As children move into their teens, the higher demand of requires strategizing and decision making regarding the their studies may be beneficial brain exercise. potential results of a certain move will give the brain an However, since teens tend to do what they want, they excellent workout. will be more likely to engage in something they enjoy. Even adults will generally find themselves more willing Exercising the Brain for Seniors to participate in something fun, rather than something that is just beneficial. It’s no joke that it’s easier to remember something from 50 years ago than it is from yesterday. Growing

Sudoku, the popular puzzle game, is a perfect brain awareness about brain degenerative diseases has people in their early 50’s starting to worry. This may be game as it requires discerning, deciphering and decoding while still being challenging and compelling. why companies like AARP and MetLife are beginning to

Equally beneficial while still entertaining will be focus on the importance of brain health. crossword and jigsaw puzzles, but these may not be as amusing to today’s youth. Research published in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2008 revealed that if a neuron doesn’t receive sufficient One challenging brain exercise for teens is listing a set stimulation through active synapses it will eventually of three items and asking the teen to determine what die. On the other hand, if it receives stimulation from other neurons developing along the same neural each item has in common. For instance: needles, hurricanes and potatoes all have eyes. pathway, it lives and grows. It’s this simple.

Crossword and Jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku and reading Video Games the newspaper are just the beginning of ways to Recognizing that teens and adults are fascinated and exercise neurons and synapses. Fun challenges or challenged by IQ tests and trivia questions, Nintendo “neurobics” can be equally if not more beneficial. For DS and Wii have released several video games in this instance, wearing a wrist watch on the other arm, genre. Brain games that will require testing knowledge brushing teeth with the opposite hand or wearing a and memory, that are also fun, include for the DS: Big blindfold at home for an hour; these games or mental Brain Academy, Brain Age, Brain Age 2, Ultimate Brain exercises stimulate the brain by causing it to do Age and Master Jin Jin’s IQ Challenge. For the Wii, mundane activities differently. Nintendo has created Big Brain Academy, Margot’s Word Brain and Brain Challenge. In Summary

The brain is just like every other muscle or organ in Exercise with Strategy your body: if you don’t use it, it won’t perform at its Some of the best brain games will continue to be those peak. At any age our brains can benefit from a little out that have been around for years, with the most obvious of the ordinary exercise.

Dear Parent,

Dr. Erin is dedicated to providing you with the absolute best in family wellness care. So take a moment today to discuss with your Family Wellness Chiropractor any concerns you may have regarding your family’s overall health and wellness.

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